Nearby, between old towns of Plentitude and Mound Prairie, John Billups as early as 1847 used Anderson County ore for iron to manufacture cotton gins and grist mills. In the Civil War, with D. D. Hassell as partner, made rifles and bayonets for Confederacy. To obtain military goods, the State of Texas subsidized war plants and exempted workmen. Other factories at Lancaster, Houston, Bastrop, Fredericksburg, Waxahachie, Corpus Christi, San Antonio, Austin, Burnet, Rusk and Tyler made pistols, percussion caps and gunpowder. (1964)